Jeremiah 37:11 says, And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, The Chaldean army broke away from Jerusalem for fear of the Pharaoh's army. Things appeared to be going better for Jerusalem to not be defeated by the Chaldeans as Jeremiah had prophesied that they would. It may appear to someone that their life is going very well without God, but that person can be certain that it will not end well. Verse twelve adds, Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people. Jeremiah decided at this time to get out of Jerusalem and away from the people there. We are not told that God instructed him to do so. Verse thirteen states, And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. As he was leaving, Jeremiah was arrested and accused of having been going over to the Chaldeans and leaving with them or to go to them. Since Jeremiah had been predicting their victory and they were leaving, this would have been the possible motive for his actions. We should not be surprised if people today misinterpret our actions as we proclaim God's word and live for Him, but we must always make sure that our actions are in obedience to God's word. Verse fourteen declares, Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. Jeremiah denied the charge, but Iriiah would not believe him and brought him before the princes, or those who ruled Judah and Jerusalem. Verse fifteen adds, Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison. The princes were angry with Jeremiah, beat him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan, which had been turned into a prison. The princes were already upset with Jeremiah for his prophesy from God, and may have seen this as an opportunity to silence him forever. Even though Jeremiah was not prophesying at the time he was arrested, he was still known for his prophesies by the princes. We should not be surprised if those who oppose the word of God and God Himself use every opportunity they get to attempt to silence and discredit those who are speaking the truth of God. Verse sixteen says, When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days; Then verse seventeen adds, Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. After Jeremiah had been in the prison for several days, Zedekiah the king sent for him. This was probably after the Chaldean army had returned, and now Zedekiah desired a private meeting with Jeremiah and asked him if he had had a word from God. Zedekiah seemed to value the truth of Jeremiah being a prophet of God. Jeremiah once more told Zedekiah that the land would be delivered to the hand of the Chaldeans. No matter how successful we may seem to be in this life, if we do not believe the word of God, then we will ultimately face everlasting destruction. Verse eighteen asks, Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison? Jeremiah asked the king what he had done to deserve being put in prison. It was a fair question, and if we are falsely accused and imprisoned today, we must never quit proclaiming God's word. Verse nineteen adds, Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? Jeremiah wanted to know why the false prophets had not been imprisoned as he had been, since they were both guilty only of prophesying. Time would prove which was the true prophet. Verse twenty states, Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. Jeremiah very humbly asked the king to not return him to prison, since if he did, Jeremiah said he could die there. Even though he was God's prophet, he did not demand that the king not return him to prison. I don't believe that we should use our relationship with God as followers of Christ to attempt to make personal demands on people of the world. Verse twenty-one adds, Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city were spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. Jeremiah was not returned to the dungeon, but was held in the court of the prison and was fed a piece of bread each day. When we hear someone say that God would not want us unhappy if we are a follower of Christ, we need to look back to those who were doing God's work in the Bible and how they were often treated to realize that this is not true, at least based on having or not having material wealth. We can also look to the life of Jesus to realize that being happy and materially successful in this world is not the key to having a relationship with God.
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